Face Value (9 page)

“I’d rather
not-”

“I asked you
who it was, Lauren.” His voice was low and deceptively calm, but
the wary look in her eye told him she knew he was on the verge of
losing his temper. “I’d appreciate an answer. Now.”

“Rob,” she
blurted, refusing to look him in the eye.

Rob was a new
hire, the nephew of one of the older guys on his crew. Rob hadn’t
worked for him long enough to know that crossing Tucker was the
epitome of madness. “I’ll speak to him about it tomorrow. Don’t
worry, it won’t happen again.”

“I don’t want
to get him in trouble, Tucker,” she said, reaching for his hand.
“Please, can’t we just let it go?”

He looked at
her hand before meeting her eyes. “You want me to sit back and
watch one of my employees make a play for you?” His eyes drifted to
her lips, and he knew he was venturing into unsafe territory. “I
can’t do that.”

She got up and
stood in front of him. “Please, I can handle myself. Believe me,
this happens all the time with the crews who work with me. They
find out I’m single and suddenly I’m fair game.”

His eyes
trailed over her face, and he could barely breathe when her tongue
moistened her lips. “It’s not gonna happen with my crew.”

“You don’t have
to protect me,” she whispered.

“Maybe I want
to.”

Tucker shifted
and inched his legs wider. She stepped between them. He tried to
keep his hands to himself, but it was impossible with her standing
so close. He rested his hands on her waist to give her a chance to
retreat, but she looped her arms around his neck and moved farther
into his arms. He was in trouble. His brain was short-circuiting
and good sense was quickly getting lost in lust.

“Why?” she
whispered, scanning his face. “Why do you want to protect me?”

He ran his
hands up her back, trying to control the urge to dip lower. He knew
if he did, it would be over. “I don’t know. I just do.”

“Tucker…”

He saw she was
as conflicted as he was. Their behavior was wrong for so many
reasons, but the force drawing them together was impossible to
ignore. When he was with her, he wanted to touch her. One glance at
her lips, and he wanted to taste them. “Now would be a good time to
tell me to get my hands off you.”
Before it’s too late.

“I know,” she
whispered. But instead of backing away, she moved in closer.

“Lauren…”

She grazed her
lips across his, and that’s all it took to provoke the storm.
Before he could talk himself down, he fisted his hands in her hair,
loosening the knot, and claimed her mouth like a man possessed. He
told himself to stay seated so he wouldn’t take the kiss further,
but his body didn’t get his brain’s message.

He stood,
confining her with his body, giving her nowhere to go. But when she
slipped her hands under his shirt and moaned into his mouth, he
realized she wasn’t trying to get away. She was trying to get
closer.

He’d been
around the block enough times to know kisses like that were just a
prelude to the main event, but he couldn’t take her right there on
a dirty kitchen floor. Lauren was too classy to be treated that
way. She deserved a soft bed, roses, candlelight, music… Where the
hell had that thought come from? He’d never romanced a woman to get
her into bed, but something told him Lauren was unlike any woman
he’d ever known. She was in a class by herself.

“Tucker…” She
finally pulled away, her hands clenched in his hair as she rested
her forehead against his chest and drew deep, gasping breaths.

He should
apologize for letting things go too far, but he wouldn’t pretend he
was sorry. He wasn’t. She was a temptress; there was no other word
to describe her. She was the kind of woman who could drive a sane
man crazy and bring a strong man to his knees.

Tucker had
spent the four years since his release rebuilding his business and
his life. He’d earned the respect of his employees and the
community again by proving he was a changed man. He’d even learned
to like and respect the man in the mirror by setting and achieving
goals and drawing lines he refused to cross. He’d honored his
commitments to others and himself, but that night, he broke a vow
to himself and to Lauren, and that didn’t feel good.

“I didn’t mean
for that to happen,” he said quietly. That much was true. He went
there looking forward to spending more time with her. He hadn’t
intended to ravage her.

“It’s not your
fault.” She hooked her thumbs through his belt loops and tipped her
head back to look him in the eye. “I wanted it as much as you did.
But it can’t happen again.”

He knew she was
right, but the reminder still hurt as much as a swift kick in the
gut. “I know.”

She stepped
back and pulled the black elastic from her disheveled ponytail,
letting her hair fall over her shoulders. “I’m glad we agree about
that.”

Tucker watched
her hair fan out, and his only thought was how it would look spread
out over his pillow. Agreeing to reason was the easy part.
Wrestling his libido to the mat every time he saw her was bound to
be more difficult.

Tucker stormed into
Lauren’s house early the next morning in a foul mood. He’d tossed
and turned most of the night, thinking about her and that kiss. He
was there to confront the man with the audacity to ask her out, and
he was even more on edge. He knew better than to walk into a
situation that riled up, but if he didn’t confront Rob, he was
bound to explode on some poor, unsuspecting soul who hadn’t done
anything to warrant his anger.

Ten, nine,
eight…
“I want to talk to you.”

All four of the
men within shouting distance turned to Tucker with the same thought
in mind:
I hope he’s not talking to me.

Rob turned
around slowly, and Tucker wanted nothing more than to wipe that
smug smirk off his face. He shoved his hands in his coat pocket for
one reason: he was less likely to strike out if he was retrained.
“What the hell were you thinking?”

“Uh, you’re
gonna have to be more specific, boss.”

The grin on his
face told Tucker Rob was too stupid to recognize a threat staring
him in the face.

Will stepped
forward, getting in Tucker’s face. Tucker didn’t have to ask why.
His friend had seen him in that state too many times over the
years.

“What’s this
all about?” Will asked, looking from Tucker to Rob.

“This stupid
son of a bitch came on to a client yesterday.”

“So what?” Rob
said, still smirking. “She wanted me. If she said she doesn’t,
she’s lying.”

Tucker lunged
and immediately had four guys surrounding him, trying to physically
restrain him as they talked him down.

The front door
slammed shut. “What’s going on here?” Lauren asked. She looked from
Tucker to Rob, waiting for a response. “Is there a problem?”

“No, no
problem,” Tucker said, shaking his friends off so he could make his
way outside. He couldn’t believe he’d almost let his temper get the
better of him. That hadn’t happened in years, and he’d sworn it
would never happen again.

Tucker ate up
the pavement with long strides. He needed to get out of there. He
slammed the door of his truck, but before he could start the
engine, Lauren hopped in. Muttering a curse, he rested his head
against the leather headrest and closed his eyes, drawing deep
breaths. “I have to get to work.”

“Not until you
tell me what that was all about.”

He couldn’t
deal with her right then. She messed with his head in a big way,
making him feel things he’d sworn he’d never feel again. “This
isn’t a good time.”

“Too bad.” She
fastened her seat belt. “If you leave, I’m going with you.”

He sighed. At
least reason was finally permeating the cloud of fury. “Get out,
Lauren.”

“No, not until
you tell me why you almost beat the hell out of one of your
employees.”

Tucker knew he
shouldn’t have confronted Rob in that state. He should have waited
until he was calmer and the taste of Lauren on his lips had faded
away. He was too close to her and their situation to be objective.
Tucker’s anger wasn’t about an employee hitting on a client. It was
about a man hitting on a woman he wanted for himself. He was so
jealous he couldn’t even see straight.

“I came to talk
to him about happened with you yesterday. It got out of hand.”

“I knew I
shouldn’t have told you.” She crossed her arms.

“You should
have told me.” He reached for her hand, though he knew physical
contact was the worst way to forget what happened between them last
night. “I’m glad you told me.”

“Why?” Instead
of pulling away, she threaded her fingers through his, rubbing
circles on his palm with her thumb.

“If you have a
problem, I wanna know about it.” That was Tucker’s M.O. He took
care of the people important to him, and Lauren had somehow managed
to earn a spot in that select group without even trying.

She smiled as
she leaned her head against the seat and regarded him. “You can’t
come to my rescue whenever I have a problem.”

He didn’t know
how she’d managed it, but his mood had gone from nasty to relaxed
in minutes. “Says who?”

“That’s kind of
your thing, isn’t it? You like playing the hero?”

Tucker
chuckled. No one had ever called him a hero before, but he wouldn’t
mind her thinking of him that way. “No, I just look out for the
people I care about.”

“You don’t know
me well enough to care about me.” She looked at their joined
hands.

“Don’t I?”

She sighed.
“Tucker, what the hell is this? What’s going on between us?”

“I haven’t got
a clue.” That much was true. He’d sent the message to his brain:
this woman is off limits.
But his heart, and his body, must
have missed the message because every time he saw her, he took one
look in those big blue eyes and fell just a little bit deeper. “I
can’t come by tonight.” He hoped she would accept the change of
subject without an argument.

“Why?”

“It’s Friday.
I’ve got to pick up my kids after work.”

“Oh, okay.”

Had he imagined
the hint of disappointment in her voice or was that wishful
thinking? “Will ya miss me?” He grinned when she rolled her eyes.
When Tonya did that, it was annoying, but when Lauren did it, he
wanted to kiss her senseless.

“No!” Her full
mouth trembled, as though she was trying to keep a straight face.
“I have a date tonight anyways, so it’s probably better that you’re
busy.”

He withdrew his
hand, gripping the steering wheel instead. “Oh yeah?”
Don’t
ask.
“Who are you going out with?”

“Mitch.”

He’d sensed
something between them when he saw them dancing. “Why the hell did
you let me kiss you if you’re hooking up with him?” Tucker felt his
temper rising again. He didn’t appreciate being played for a fool,
and the thought of someone else kissing her the way he had had him
cursing viciously in his head.

“Did I say I
was hooking up with him?”

Ten, nine,
eight…
“You need to go. I have to get to work.”

“Tucker, before
you go…” She turned to face him, looking apprehensive. “Can I ask
you a question?”

He knew
whatever it was, he wouldn’t like it. “That depends on what it
is.”

“Why did you go
to jail?”

He definitely
didn’t like
that
question. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
He was pretty certain she’d already heard Amanda’s version, and he
was satisfied to leave it at that. If she thought he was a tyrant,
maybe she would do them both a favor and keep her distance.

Tucker knew one
thing for sure: he was all wrong for Lauren McCall, and she was
even worse for him. If she were his woman, he had no doubt she
would be the match that finally lit his fuse. Wherever they went,
men would come on to her, and Tucker would probably bust an artery
trying to contain his rage and jealousy.

“Is it true
that you beat Amanda’s ex-boyfriend so badly he was on life support
for-”

“I said I don’t
want to talk about it!” He slapped his open palm against the
steering wheel and winced when she jumped.

“I’m sorry I
asked.” She threw the door open and jumped out.

He watched her
stalk up the driveway without looking back. “That’s it, you
dumbass,” he muttered to himself. “Scare her away.”

***

Lauren was
looking forward to seeing her cousin Anna. She always had fun when
they went out as a foursome with Mitch and Justin, but her thoughts
kept drifting to Tucker.

Amanda and her
father appeared right about him. He was definitely a hothead, but
he also had a gentleness she never would have expected. The way he
wanted to protect her…

“Hey there,”
Anna said, leaning over to kiss Lauren’s cheek.

Lauren had been
so wrapped up in thoughts of Tucker she hadn’t even seen them walk
into Jimmy’s. “Where’s Mitch?”

“He’ll be here
soon.” Justin took Anna’s jacket and hung it on the iron peg
affixed to the booth. “Have you been here long?” he asked, kissing
Lauren’s cheek before sliding in next to his fiancée.

“No, just a few
minutes. How have you been?” Lauren asked, reaching for Anna’s
hand.

“Good.” She
grinned at Justin. “Busy planning the wedding.”

Justin and Anna
were perfect for each other, and Lauren was thrilled her cousin had
finally found a man who loved her as much as Justin clearly did. “I
can’t wait for the big day.”

“We wanted to
talk to you about that,” Anna said, sliding a look at Justin.
Before she could continue, Justin raised his hand to beckon Mitch
to their table.

Mitch shook
hands with Justin and kissed Anna before sliding in next to Lauren.
He dropped a quick kiss on her cheek. “What did I miss?”